Category Archives: Eritrea News

Last week, Newsweek published an article about Eritrea decrying the internal situation in the country. As has become so common with reports on Eritrea, the article was heavily biased, overly simplistic, filled with stereotypes, and devoid of context, ultimately serving to poignantly encapsulate how coverage of the country is so problematic.read more

This week represents 15 years since the Eritrea Ethiopia Boundary Commission (EEBC) made its ruling to solve the border conflict between the neighbouring countries. However, its decisions, presented on 13 April 2002, remain unimplemented, constituting a flagrant violation of fundamental international law, calling into question the moral authority of several international organizations, serving as a serious impediment to peace and development in the Horn of Africa, and leading to the destabilization of the region through contributing to unnecessary rivalry, tension, conflict, and insecurity.read more

Civil unrests and wars have always been a reason that drove people to seek asylum and refuge in other countries or even continents. These people tend to take dangerous routes and have to undergo perilous journeys. The infamous central Mediterranean route is chosen by a huge number of people despite its numerous perils.read more

According to the recently published Global Economic Prospects, a World Bank Group flagship report, the year 2016 was marked by stagnant global trade, subdued investment, and heightened policy uncertainty. For 2017, a subdued recovery is expected, with receding obstacles to activity in commodity exporters and solid domestic demand in commodity importers. Additionally, weak investment is weighing on medium-term prospects across many emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs). Although fiscal stimulus in major economies, if implemented, may boost global growth above expectations, risks to growth forecasts remain tilted to the downside.read more

During one of his debates with Socrates, Thrasymachus alleges that “justice is nothing else than the interest of the stronger.” For Eritreans (as well as many other regional observers), a clear reflection of this point are the ongoing sanctions imposed against the country. Not only do the sanctions lack basis and remain counterproductive, they reveal a long-existent and glaring double standard.read more

In Tancred, Benjamin Disraeli tells us how “[t]he East is a career.” Eritreans may be forgiven for thinking that likewise, for many mainstream analysts and experts, “Eritrea is a career.” Earlier this year a story on polygamy being mandatory in Eritrea was widely circulated across international media, and this week, an outdated, fictitious report about a North Korean ambassador commenting about Eritrea received considerable attention on social media. Although the stories were hoaxes and satirical, littered with innumerable fabrications and falsehoods – quite easily revealed by simple, perfunctory background research – their broad dissemination and attention poignantly encapsulate how coverage of, journalistic practice toward, and understanding about Eritrea are so problematic. The latest example of this trend is the article, “How the World Forgot ‘Africa’s North Korea’ Eritrea, and What This Means for Migration,” featured in the New Statesman, a British magazine (published 9 September). Not only is the article overly simplistic and lacking in context, it is strewn with inaccuracies and errors, and heavily tinged with paternalistic overtones.read more

According to the late Nelson Mandela, the great South African anti-apartheid revolutionary who served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, “Sport has the power to change the world.” It brings people together, offering unity and shared celebration. At the same time, however, sport frequently serves as an important outlet for social and political resistance. Specifically, for those suffering oppression, discrimination, and despair, sport is often so significant because it provides a vital means of retaining humanity, dignity, hope, and inspiration.read more

July 28 is World Hepatitis Day (WHD), one of eight official global public health campaigns marked by the World Health Organization (WHO). WHD aims to raise global awareness of hepatitis and encourage prevention, diagnosis and treatment. Viral hepatitis – a group of infectious diseases known as hepatitis A, B, C, D, and E – affects hundreds of millions of people worldwide, causing acute and chronic disease and killing close to 1.4 million people every year.read more

Recently, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) highlighted an exciting skills development program being implemented in Eritrea. Undertaken in collaboration with the National Union of Eritrean Youth and Students (NUEYS) and the Norwegian Government, the program, specifically targeting youths, was scaled-up from a pilot project that was conducted from 2007 to 2011. The skills development program, which aims to enhance the capacity of various vocational training institutions and to equip Eritrean youth with tangible work skills, is significant for several reasons.read more

Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is conducting a four-country trip of East Africa, becoming the first Israeli prime minister to visit the continent in at least 30 years. In addition to visiting Uganda, where 40 years ago an Israeli raid led by Netanyahu’s brother, Jonathan Netanyahu (who was killed during the operation), ended a hostage crisis, Netanyahu is also visiting Kenya, Rwanda, and Ethiopia. The trip, which holds great commemorative and symbolic value, will focus mainly on cooperation, diplomacy, business and security issues.read more

A new development indicates that South Sudan airline, The Golden Wings, has commenced business to Eritrea. According to Geeskaafrika, the Republic of South Sudan and Eritrea had a meeting where an aviation agreement was signed on the 24th of June with the primary purpose of establishing an easy and direct flight services to and from the two countries.read more

Last week, a 61-page human rights report about Ethiopia was released, detailing the government’s heavy-handed response to large and widespread anti-government protests and dissent over political and economic inclusion. According to the report, Such a Brutal Crackdown: Killings and Arrests in Response to Ethiopia’s Oromo Protests, during the widespread protests, largely arising within the Oromia region, Ethiopian security forces have resorted to excessive and unnecessary lethal force and mass arrests, engaged in the harsh, ruthless mistreatment of those in detention, and restricted access to information. Estimates suggest that over 400 protesters or others have been killed by security forces, while tens of thousands more have been arrested.read more

On Sunday, the Ethiopian government launched an attack against Eritrea on the Tsorona Central Front. According to a BBC report, “witnesses report hearing heavy gunfire and seeing Ethiopian troops and tanks heading towards Eritrean border.” The region, located along the tense border between the two countries, was the scene of some of the fiercest fighting during the 1998-2000 Eritrea-Ethiopia war. Full details of yesterday’s attack are still being confirmed and its specific motives or ultimate aims remain unclear. While on Sunday, the Eritrean government confirmed the incident in a press release, claiming that Ethiopia had launched an attack, Mary Harper of the BBC tweeted that the “[Ethiopian] info minister said he wasn’t aware of fighting with [Eritrea].” Then in a puzzling turnaround, on Monday, the Ethiopia claimed that the incident was “a serious offensive, not just a simple skirmish” and in response to an Eritrean attack.read more